PALO ALTO, Calif. - May 13, 2003 - Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) will exhibit X-ray products for the homeland security market at theupcoming Homeland Security Summit taking place May 14-16, 2003, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
Varian Medical Systems will exhibit:
- PaxScan™ portable digital
flat panel X-ray imaging products;
- The Linatron-M™ X-ray linear
accelerator for rapid, high-resolution screening of cargo containers and
trucks; and
- Several new lines of high energy X-ray tube sources for
use in baggage and cargo inspection equipment.
PaxScan Portable Digital X-Ray Products
Varian Medical Systems is one of the world's leading producers of
amorphous-silicon flat panel image detectors. These devices are
incorporated in portable X-ray inspection systems currently used by some U.S.
Government agencies for quickly identifying the contents of suspicious
packages.
One particular application of the PaxScan technology is this 4030R Portable
System ideal for battlefield X-ray imagingVarian's PaxScan 4030R Portable
X-Ray Inspection System combines a high-resolution flat panel image detector
with a rugged portable computer workstation. When combined with an
appropriate x-ray source, the PaxScan 4030R system is compact enough to be
transported in the trunk of a car. It can be set up and used to acquire
images in a matter of minutes. The images are instantly displayed on the
integrated computer monitor.
Varian's PaxScan technology is already used in numerous industrial and medical
settings, from steel mills and jet engine component factories to hospital
oncology departments. In every case, Varian focuses on adapting the
technology to meet customers' specific needs.
"Demands that stress smaller, lighter, and faster are always at the head of
the list of needs when portability is required," said Chuck Blouir, marketing
manager at Varian. "Many products currently on the market are large and
difficult to position around suspicious objects in tight areas, and they
do not provide the image quality required for making decisions. This can
lead to lost time, in time-critical situations. The Varian PaxScan
system is compact, it sets up fast, and it provides very high quality images
quickly and reliably. Today's security agencies need this superior
capability."
Linatron M
Cargo containers that enter the U.S. through international ports are a large
potential hazard. According to Lester Boeh, vice president for Varian's
Security & Inspection Products business, current technology used for
screening cargo containers coming into U.S. ports was not designed to allow
for thoroughly screening large numbers of containers in a short period of
time.
Varian Medical Systems' Linatron™ M X-ray linear accelerator has been
incorporated, by several cargo inspection suppliers around the world, into
fixed site and mobile cargo scan systems. The Linatron M is a high
energy X-ray accelerator that is used for industrial and nondestructive
inspection purposes. These devices are also used for field inspection of
structures like bridges and buildings. They incorporate Varian Medical
Systems' leading linear accelerator technology and can generate a wide range
of X-ray energies for penetrating different substances, including steel.
An X-ray image of a truck reveals the presence of a stolen car hidden inside a
truck behind a pile of other items. The stolen car contains some stolen
television sets in the back seat and trunk. There are also bottles of alcohol
hidden in a stack of material behind the car. The image was created with a
Heimann Cargo Vision X-ray Inspection System using a Linatron linear
accelerator from Varian Medical Systems of Palo Alto, CA.The use of
high-energy X-ray screening technology for cargo inspection is still new to
the U.S. However, countries like Algeria, Australia, Belgium,
China, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi
Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey, and the UK, use high-energy cargo screening systems,
primarily for manifest verification and revenue enhancement. US Customs
owns two mobile evaluation systems with LinatrE> on accelerators from
Varian and has recently ordered two more. Varian Security &
Inspection Products has delivered nearly 60 high-energy x-ray accelerators for
cargo inspection worldwide.
"Prior to September 11, US Customs was primarily interested in drug
enforcement," said Jim Johnson, General Manager of Varian Security &
Inspection Products. "But now, drugs are no longer the only focus.
There is growing recognition that un-inspected sea cargo containers and large
air cargo represent a significant threat to security. If the U.S.
government decides to step up cargo screening, Varian has the technology to
help them do it."
X-Ray Tubes
One of Varian's high-voltage, metal-ceramic X-ray tubes for use in EDS
scannersVarian Medical Systems is also the world's largest independent
supplier of X-ray tubes and X-ray tube assemblies for medical,
industrial and security applications. The company will exhibit a new line of
x-ray tube assemblies designed specifically for highly sophisticated explosive
detection system (EDS-CT) applications. Also on display will be a new
line of bi-polar metal ceramic X-ray tube assemblies for non-destructive
inspection (NDI), available in several configurations ranging from 220kV to
350kV for cargo and parcel inspection applications.
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